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The head of the union that represents 4,700 workers at the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. auto plant in Fremont alleged Wednesday that a proposed severance package mandates a gag order preventing him from speaking to news media.

Sergio Santos, the president of United Auto Workers Local 2244, told reporters at a news conference at the union's office, which is located across the street from the NUMMI plant, "This statement on the closing of the Toyota NUMMI auto assembly plant, will, by necessity, be my last."

The plant is scheduled to close on April 1.

"We were told, take it or leave it."

Members of United Auto Workers Local 2244 vote to accept or reject Toyota's $278 million severance package. (Published Thursday, Mar 18, 2010)

Santos said the severance package offer "mandates a gag order that I believe violates our First Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution and our rights to freedom of association under the labor rights conventions of the United Nations International Labor Organization."

He said, "Nonetheless, under conditions set by Toyota, after the agreement is ratified, I will no longer be able to comment on the plant closing or its impact on our members."

Recession Rattles Tesla Motors, NUMMI Plant Workers

Local auto workers have differing opinions on whether the big three automakers should receive a federal bailout. (Published Friday, Dec 5, 2008)

But NUMMI spokesman Lance Tomasu said NUMMI did not issue a gag order.

Tomasu said, "The UAW committed of its own accord not to further denigrate NUMMI or Toyota as a term of the shutdown agreement."

He said, "In fact, the union negotiated and proposed specific language for that provision of the agreement."

NUMMI was a 25-year-old joint venture between General Motors and Toyota, but GM announced in June that it would withdraw from the partnership and Toyota announced in August that it wouldn't order any more vehicles from the plant after April 1.

Toyota announced on March 3 that it was offering $250 million in severance payments to all NUMMI employees, including about 900 salaried employees.

Javier Contreras, the chairman of UAW Local 2244's bargaining committee, said Toyota recently sweetened its severance offer for employees by $28 million, bringing the package to a total of about $278 million, including $206 million for union workers.

"We made improvements in economic and non-economic issues," Contreras said.

He said the union "had no choice" but to accept the offer because it was management's last offer.

Santos said, "I'm not happy with the settlement."

But he said, "We are accepting the terms of Toyota's settlement out of necessity as a means of securing some limited funds for our families."